LG has taken the wraps off its first Google TV-powered television set, even as rumors of an Apple television loom over the industry.

The South Korean consumer electronics maker issued a press release on Friday (via TechCrunch) unveiling its new LG Smart TV with Google TV, set to be introduced next week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nev. The new set, which will be featured in a demonstration next Monday, sports a custom interface on top of the Android-based Google TV platform.

Through Google TV, LG has merged Googles established Android operating system with LGs proven 3D and Smart TV technologies, offering consumers a new and enthralling TV experience, said LG President and CEO Havis Kwon.

LG touted the device's "ease of use" as its most attractive feature, citing the combination of the Android-based user interface and an LG-designed Magic Remote Qwerty. The television utilizes LG's CINEMA 3D technology to offer a 3D viewing option.

The company does not, however, appear ready to fully commit to Google TV for its connected sets. LG noted in its press release that it will "continue to advance its own Smart TV platform" alongside Google TV. Based on NetCast, the platform will power more than 60 percent of the company's flat panel TVs that will arrive later this year.

"With a growing collection of content and services, LGs Smart TV platform will continue to provide consumers with a unique user experience," the release read.

For its part, Google struggled to gain traction with Google TV when it released the software in late 2010. Sales of set-top boxes and HDTVs based on the platform floundered, with partner Logitech reporting losses of as much as $100 million from the initiative. Last October, Google released a new and improved Google TV with more support for the Android Market application store and improved search functionality.

Eric Schmidt, Google's chairman and former CEO, remains confident that Google TV will take off. H made the bold prediction last month that "the majority" of televisions in stores will run Google TV by next summer. The company has its work cut out for it, as a number of TV makers, including LG, Samsung, Panasonic and Sony have committed to developing their own competing platforms.

Meanwhile, evidence of an upcoming Apple television continues to mount. One recent report claimed Apple designer Jonathan Ive has a "slick" 50-inch Apple television prototype in his studio at the company's headquarters. Rumors have suggested that different versions of the set could be as small as 32 inches or as large as 55 inches.

Sony CEO Howard Stringer said last year that he has "no doubt" that late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was working to revolutionize the television. According to him, a "tremendous amount of R&D" is being spent by the industry to invent the next generation of TVs.

Stringer also gave voice to a latent desperation that TV makers have been experiencing as of late. "We can't continue selling TV sets [the way we have been]. Every TV set we all make loses money," he said. Several display-making companies, including Samsung, have seen eroding profits in recent years as flat-screen purchases have slowed.

Jobs himself told his biographer that he had "cracked" the secret to a simple and elegant TV interface. A new Apple patent application uncovered by AppleInsider on Thursday revealed that Apple has invested research funds on improved LCD display picture quality when watching widescreen movies, prompting further speculation that the company is working on an television set.

A TV is like a speaker for visual information. To be effective, a UI like this would have to reside in an A/V receiver that's acting as a switcher for all of your sources and driving the TV, not in the TV itself.

And even that's half-assed, unless the device is also a universal cable box, DirecTV box, and DVR.

Anyone who bitches about 3-D being a money-making gimmick and then runs out to buy this crap will mark himself as a major hypocrite.

I worry about Apple's ability to execute a slick "smart" TV, based on my experience with the AppleTV (gens 1 and 2). Two observations:

1) I'm on a 20Mbps broadband service, but frequently have tv shows and movies interrupted, from hiccups to stalls requiring restarts. That's worse than the normal broadcast experience and it doesn't bode well for streaming.

2) More troublesome (in terms of inattention to detail) are movie descriptions that don't fit in the space allotted to them on the AppleTV. At least I can't find a way to navigate past a second screen of text. I had to pull up only three movies, at random, before finding an example: Go to "The Chaos Experiment". The text describing the movie ends in an ellipsis. But by using the up arrow, you can bump to a second screen to continue reading. Unfortunately, that page of text also ends in an ellipsis, and I can't find a way to get to the third (and final?) page of descriptive text. That's a hell of a user experience!

If Apple's iBook showed only parts of the texts purchased or viewed for consideration, people would find that intolerable. The fact that it happens frequently--and has been happening for years--makes me worry about Apple and TV. I guess I'm bitching because I expect better from Apple.

I worry about Apple's ability to execute a slick "smart" TV, based on my experience with the AppleTV (gens 1 and 2). Two observations:

1) I'm on a 20Mbps broadband service, but frequently have tv shows and movies interrupted, from hiccups to stalls requiring restarts. That's worse than the normal broadcast experience and it doesn't bode well for streaming.

I have an 8 Mbps (as tested) Internet connection, and I watch HD on the AppleTV without any issues. Just sayin'.

I worry about Apple's ability to execute a slick "smart" TV, based on my experience with the AppleTV (gens 1 and 2). Two observations:

1) I'm on a 20Mbps broadband service, but frequently have tv shows and movies interrupted, from hiccups to stalls requiring restarts. That's worse than the normal broadcast experience and it doesn't bode well for streaming.

2) More troublesome (in terms of inattention to detail) are movie descriptions that don't fit in the space allotted to them on the AppleTV. At least I can't find a way to navigate past a second screen of text. I had to pull up only three movies, at random, before finding an example: Go to "The Chaos Experiment". The text describing the movie ends in an ellipsis. But by using the up arrow, you can bump to a second screen to continue reading. Unfortunately, that page of text also ends in an ellipsis, and I can't find a way to get to the third (and final?) page of descriptive text. That's a hell of a user experience!

If Apple's iBook showed only parts of the texts purchased or viewed for consideration, people would find that intolerable. The fact that it happens frequently--and has been happening for years--makes me worry about Apple and TV. I guess I'm bitching because I expect better from Apple.

GoogleTV was always Android based. The big change is they finally added the Androids Market.

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What I haven't seen yet why an Apple television will be any more successful than the current AppleTV. The AppleTV is still referred to as a hobby, so why do people think that a full TV ( which will probably cost at least a grand if not more) will do any better?

GoogleTV was always Android based. The big change is they finally added the Androids Market.

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What I haven't seen yet why an Apple television will be any more successful than the current AppleTV. The AppleTV is still referred to as a hobby, so why do people think that a full TV ( which will probably cost at least a grand if not more) will do any better?

OK... so I may regret saying this, but I think Google TV may end up as the defacto "smart TV" platform standard.

It's what the OEM's want...
Well... sort of. I'm sure they would rather their own unique platforms, but with the threat of Apple TV looming it's not hard to imagine them coalescing around the Android platform.

When you look at the major TV manufacturers (e.g. Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, LG, Samsung, Visio etc) most are already Android partners to some extent.

The OEM's will also have the ability to differentiate through completely skinning the default Google TV UI.

The technology may be "good enough"...
Apple could create a more unique and user friendly TV UI than Google (e.g. Siri integration etc) but Google TV wouldn't be that far behind.

Lagging by 12 months in the smart phone industry is a big deal, lagging by that much in the TV industry (where people switch out their TVs far less often) isn't so much of a problem.

I'm not sure if there is any other company in the world other than Google that has the infrastructure and scalability in place to deliver a wide-scale content-on-demand video service.

Google has a carrot for the networks...
I've gone on about this ad nauseam in other threads about the iTV... a company needs leverage over the networks so they will provide them with the content they need (and at the price they need it) to be able to deliver the TV service that consumers want.

One way to get leverage over the networks is to offer them a new (and larger) revenue stream, and one of the ways to do this is through enhanced advertising (e.g. in-program advertising or highly targeted advertising)

Google know what your searches are. They know your browsing patterns, they know what you buy. Heck they can even scan your email for keywords.

The ability to deliver targeted advertising is Google's bread and butter, and it happens to be something that Apple sucks at.

But I'm not writing off Apple...
Maybe Apple could do something totally unexpected and change the way we think about TV.

Maybe they could find a way to carve out a lions share of the profit marketshare without the sales marketshare by offering a TV that syncs well with the Apple eco-system.

Maybe they could even partner with a company like Facebook to deliver some targeted advertising that blows Google TV out of the water.

As someone who sells TV's for a well-known UK retailer, this really has sparked my interest.

Most customers I speak to don't care too much for 3D or SMART TV due to the perceived expense and the fact that they feel they are paying extra for gimmicky features. I dont believe these companies have done enough to spark peoples interest and to show them the possabilities.

However, having demoed many Smart / 3D sets to many customers, they start to see the potential and start to get enthusiastic.

One issue that needs addressing is that the UI. Many customers find it very off-putting and complicated to navigate. Only Samsung seem to have a decent UI but there is still room for improvement.

I sure hope all these rumours of an Apple TV set are true. If anyone has the ability to build a simple/engaging UI coupled with a beatifully designed set then it is Apple...

<...>
LG touted the device's "ease of use" as its most attractive feature, citing the combination of the Android-based user interface and an LG-designed Magic Remote Qwerty. The television utilizes LG's CINEMA 3D technology to offer a 3D viewing option.
<...>

My expectations for a TV are rather simple, and whichever company gets them right gets my money. All I want is this:

Individual settings for each channel -- volume, picture, etc. I had this on my first TV set 15 years ago (Philips)

Auto recognition of content -- a prerequisite for the following few features:

Auto mute when commercials start, un-mute at the end

Auto channel switch when content that I have banned is shown

Keeping track of my thumbs up/down preferences

Family/individual user accounts

Full Internet integration:

IMDB integration

Social networking integration

Streaming content from subscription services (Netflix, etc.)

Youtube, Hulu, Pandora, etc.

Recording functionality

Everything else is secondary to me. Things I am particularly uninterested in are:

Simple interface. TV is simple enough. It wouldn't hurt to get some advanced customization options for a change.

Voice control. I have my family to talk to. The TV should be smart, but not try to pretend it's a person.

1) I'm on a 20Mbps broadband service, but frequently have tv shows and movies interrupted, from hiccups to stalls requiring restarts. That's worse than the normal broadcast experience and it doesn't bode well for streaming.

You must have some kind of service issue. I have a measly 1.5Mbps DSL service and I can stream without any interruption from Apple TV or my home computer.

Again, television manufacturers are looking to be able to slap as many feature stickers on their sets as possible, without thinking of the benefit to the consumer. Its all the same crap.

Fact of the matter is, if I have to turn anything extra on, funnel through more menus, screw around with a giant remote, hooked up to 5 different devices, that does god knows what, then it's a hassle to use.

Technically, it is very easy to achieve. I've read some related patents some 5 years ago.

Content providers would understandably hate the feature, but I am buying the TV from a CE maker, not a cable company, right?

That's not the issue. Google is not in the business of trying to spare you from ads and Apple would have an uphill battle convincing content providers to offer such a feature, unless you expect to pay more for the content.

That's not the issue. Google is not in the business of trying to spare you from ads and Apple would have an uphill battle convincing content providers to offer such a feature, unless you expect to pay more for the content.

I understand that. That's why I said "whoever gets it right, gets my money". I don't care whether it's Google, Apple, LG, some dude in his garage or some obscure maker in a communist country in Asia.

Think Motorola Cable modems. There isn't a huge cable provider who doesn't support Motorola hardware. All Google has to do is slip Google TV onto them and face it users are lazy, they'll use whatever comes with the cable box.

Apple will really need to convince users otherwise if that happens.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Firefly7475

OK... so I may regret saying this, but I think Google TV may end up as the defacto "smart TV" platform standard.

It's what the OEM's want...
Well... sort of. I'm sure they would rather their own unique platforms, but with the threat of Apple TV looming it's not hard to imagine them coalescing around the Android platform.

When you look at the major TV manufacturers (e.g. Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, LG, Samsung, Visio etc) most are already Android partners to some extent.

The OEM's will also have the ability to differentiate through completely skinning the default Google TV UI.

The technology may be "good enough"...
Apple could create a more unique and user friendly TV UI than Google (e.g. Siri integration etc) but Google TV wouldn't be that far behind.

Lagging by 12 months in the smart phone industry is a big deal, lagging by that much in the TV industry (where people switch out their TVs far less often) isn't so much of a problem.

I'm not sure if there is any other company in the world other than Google that has the infrastructure and scalability in place to deliver a wide-scale content-on-demand video service.

Google has a carrot for the networks...
I've gone on about this ad nauseam in other threads about the iTV... a company needs leverage over the networks so they will provide them with the content they need (and at the price they need it) to be able to deliver the TV service that consumers want.

One way to get leverage over the networks is to offer them a new (and larger) revenue stream, and one of the ways to do this is through enhanced advertising (e.g. in-program advertising or highly targeted advertising)

Google know what your searches are. They know your browsing patterns, they know what you buy. Heck they can even scan your email for keywords.

The ability to deliver targeted advertising is Google's bread and butter, and it happens to be something that Apple sucks at.

But I'm not writing off Apple...
Maybe Apple could do something totally unexpected and change the way we think about TV.

Maybe they could find a way to carve out a lions share of the profit marketshare without the sales marketshare by offering a TV that syncs well with the Apple eco-system.

Maybe they could even partner with a company like Facebook to deliver some targeted advertising that blows Google TV out of the water.

Google know what your searches are. They know your browsing patterns, they know what you buy. Heck they can even scan your email for keywords.

The ability to deliver targeted advertising is Google's bread and butter, and it happens to be something that Apple sucks at.

How is Google going to know who is watching the TV? Are we now going to have to log in to a Google account in order to watch? If a group of people are watching how will Google deliver targeted ads using any criteria other than what TV programmers already do? Ads will continue to be driven by the content of the show, nothing more. Our previous searches for information using our computers are irrelevant. The kids don't use Google on the computer at all but they see a lot of ads on those cartoon shows. According to your theory, they should be seeing mostly ads for antique motorcycle restoration parts since that is what I often search for.

Google tv with the new interface is pretty easy to use. Maybe a little easier then apple tv since google tv boxes have hdmi IN . No source changing needed

yup. combing all your inputs onto a single home page is definitely one thing Apple needs to "emulate" to succeed. this is the biggest single missing piece of the current Apple TV.

but that doesn't change my basic point: TV is a passive experience, not active. you want to search for anything as little as possible. you want scroll through those hundreds of cable/sat channels in the Guide as little as possible. you want to find something good on Netflix or Hulu without wading through pages of movie/show icons. you don't want to enter text. you don't want to fiddle with settings. you hate passwords. you didn't go sit on the sofa to expend any effort on anything. you just want what you enjoy ASAP by hopefully pushing just one button. instant gratification.

i'm exaggerating of course, but not that much. the current trend of adding more options and choices to smart TV's and Google TV is totally in the wrong direction. more choices require more effort. more complexity requires more thinking. only 10% of frequent TV users want that. the other 90% want TV to be as simple and easy as possible.

actually there is huge potential for a Siri UI to make TV simple and easy like that. you would just chat with it - using it as your very smart helper that does all the thinking and searching for you - until you found what you like. so Apple would need to reinvent the remote control. an iPod touch with Siri and AirPlay would be the perfect Apple Television remote.

I worry about Apple's ability to execute a slick "smart" TV, based on my experience with the AppleTV (gens 1 and 2). Two observations:

1) I'm on a 20Mbps broadband service, but frequently have tv shows and movies interrupted, from hiccups to stalls requiring restarts. That's worse than the normal broadcast experience and it doesn't bode well for streaming.

2) More troublesome (in terms of inattention to detail) are movie descriptions that don't fit in the space allotted to them on the AppleTV. At least I can't find a way to navigate past a second screen of text. I had to pull up only three movies, at random, before finding an example: Go to "The Chaos Experiment". The text describing the movie ends in an ellipsis. But by using the up arrow, you can bump to a second screen to continue reading. Unfortunately, that page of text also ends in an ellipsis, and I can't find a way to get to the third (and final?) page of descriptive text. That's a hell of a user experience!

If Apple's iBook showed only parts of the texts purchased or viewed for consideration, people would find that intolerable. The fact that it happens frequently--and has been happening for years--makes me worry about Apple and TV. I guess I'm bitching because I expect better from Apple.

Not sure about your second concern, but the first really has nothing to do with Apple. The blame lays with your Internet service provider. I used to have Comcast for broadband, which claims to have the fastest internet. Yet, Netflix would stall out probably at least twice during every show or movie I watched. Comcast was throttling the Netflix content, so Netflix would have to adjust the quality repeatedly. Comcast used to do the same thing with my Vonage phone calls. I am using AT&T DSL now and I experience the problem far less.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how fast your broadband is capable of achieving if the provider is throttling your content. That is why Net Neutrality is an important issue. Companies like Comcast, that are billing customers to deliver their requested content to which the customers often are subject to a cap, think they should also be able to double dip and charge the parties their customers are requesting the content from. When the content providers don't pay, the content gets throttled.

Think Motorola Cable modems. There isn't a huge cable provider who doesn't support Motorola hardware. All Google has to do is slip Google TV onto them and face it users are lazy, they'll use whatever comes with the cable box.

Apple will really need to convince users otherwise if that happens.

I doubt this is as easy you make out. The cable boxes are made to the specifications of the customers. Namely, the cable and DSL providers. Many of Google's offerings compete with those same providers offerings. The cable and DSL providers aren't going to want Google's platform competing with their own (at least without taking a cut of the pie). Moreover, entrenched channels like HBO aren't going to be thrilled with competing with Google's channels. Many content providers caused Google's first Google TV box to fail because they blocked their content to the device.

Google has always had a good relationship with Motorola. Google could have long before today gotten Motorola to put Google TV on Motorola modems if it was something cable and DSL providers wanted. Yet, you don't see this. Instead, Google is partnering with TV hardware makers.

If the rumors are true, Apple would be trying to appeal to the market who wants al a carte programming. I am one of those customers. I don't have cable or DSL TV programming. I don't wish to pay for a hundred channels I have no interest in watching. I subscribe to Netflix and Hulu Plus. I also use Red Box. I also access the ESPN app to watch sporting events. I also watch free HD programming using a HD antennae. If I didn't recently buy an excellent Sharp LED TV, I would in heartbeat buy an Apple TV (in fact I held out on buying a TV for over a year hoping Apple was going to deliver such a product).

So, LG is putting a UI interface on top of Google TV. Because that approach has worked so well with Android smartphones

Not only that ... they are only guessing what Apple may do since Schmidt can no longer access secret Apple information for Google. So they are taking a risk just to try to be first. Hopefully if Apple are coming out with something it will be magical and leave Google in the dust.

From Apple ][ - to new Mac Pro I've owned them all.Long on AAPL so biased"Google doesn't sell you anything, Google just sells you!"

I have an 8 Mbps (as tested) Internet connection, and I watch HD on the AppleTV without any issues. Just sayin'.

11 mpbs here. Netflix is unavailable more than it should be, and stalls from time to time. Rented one movie from Apple which 24 hours to download before I could start it. That was enough. Thank the FSM for InDemandHD.

11 mpbs here. Netflix is unavailable more than it should be, and stalls from time to time. Rented one movie from Apple which 24 hours to download before I could start it. That was enough. Thank the FSM for InDemandHD.

I have 20 mbps here and Apple's HD content starts within seconds and runs great, it was just as good when I had the 12 mbps service. Netflix stutters and stalls and is unavailable so much it's ridiculous. Netflix simply sux...I only keep them because they have some cartoons that my kids like.

One issue that needs addressing is that the UI. Many customers find it very off-putting and complicated to navigate. Only Samsung seem to have a decent UI but there is still room for improvement.

Don't worry, around one year after Apple finally release their smart TV, everyone on the Apple blogs and associated blog-o-sphere-thing will be claiming that Apple invented it and that Samsung merely copied the concept.

How is Google going to know who is watching the TV? Are we now going to have to log in to a Google account in order to watch? If a group of people are watching how will Google deliver targeted ads using any criteria other than what TV programmers already do?

Yes, you will need to be logged into your Google account.

I'm talking about an on-demand IPTV solution, not a Google box sitting between you and your normal cable box.

Ads are currently delivered based on the general audience, for example you're more likely to see a tampon ad during Ellen and a beer ad during the football.

Although these ads may hit some of the desired audience, they waste a lot of ad space as well (in this example a pregnant woman watching Ellen or a recovering alcoholic watching the football)

An IPTV solution allows advertising to be targeted to the specific user watching the program.

Think Motorola Cable modems. There isn't a huge cable provider who doesn't support Motorola hardware. All Google has to do is slip Google TV onto them and face it users are lazy, they'll use whatever comes with the cable box.

Apple will really need to convince users otherwise if that happens.

Its even worst since Motorola also control the iPTV boxes. At&T and Bell Canada are using them. So far they are running windows CE but I expect them to use Android at some point.

He's talking about Internet speed, true, but he is also talking about an annoying interface issue with ATV. It IS hard to see the summary info. Podcasts are not as straightforward to surf through either. It could be made a little better, yes.

What is really factored into the price is a kind of perpetual sense of disbelief that any company could be as good as Apple is. ~Retrogusto

Lenovo has announced they're jumping in bed with Google on a 55" 1080P IPS, voice-controlled (for now only if you speak in Chinese ) smart tv running Android 4.0.

From ArsTechnica:
The smart TV, imaginatively named the K91, has a 1080p IPS display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and a built-in 5-megapixel camera to support face recognition. In addition to stock Android 4, the K91 will also run a second interface Lenovo calls the Sandwich UI which can handle video on demand, Internet apps, and regular TV programming. According to a press release, the TV will be controllable through speech as well as with a compatible tablet or smartphone. Photos of the TVs remote have not been released, but it will have a touchpad, 5 directional keys, and a motion sensor.

Lenovo has announced they're jumping in bed with Google on a 55" 1080P IPS, voice-controlled (for now only if you speak in Chinese ) smart tv running Android 4.0.

From ArsTechnica:
The smart TV, imaginatively named the K91, has a 1080p IPS display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and a built-in 5-megapixel camera to support face recognition. In addition to stock Android 4, the K91 will also run a second interface Lenovo calls the Sandwich UI which can handle video on demand, Internet apps, and regular TV programming. According to a press release, the TV will be controllable through speech as well as with a compatible tablet or smartphone. Photos of the TVs remote have not been released, but it will have a touchpad, 5 directional keys, and a motion sensor.